Gas vs. Diesel in the New World...

[dscluchfc]

A brief edit on my post above.
I get 13 mpg towing at 65-70. I get over 14 mpg at 60-65.
My Yukon gets about that same mileage, solo, and can't pull any kind of grade towing without downshifting to 2nd, and grinding out hills at 2700 rpms and 43 mph.
The Duramax knows no bounds.... 70 mph up I-40 West from Santa Rosa to Clines Corners, NM....or 70 mph out of Moab UT up the hill to Monticello, UT....and it doesn't even know the trailer is behind it.
I won't ever willingly go back to a gasser.

[Darrell Root]

David ,I was reading your post on the Yukon towing mpg @ 5.5 , what motor is that. My 8.1 ltr is steady at around 11 mpg towing not paying attention to speed or grades this is a consistant average. Darrell

[dscluchfc]

Originally Posted by Darrell Root

David ,I was reading your post on the Yukon towing mpg @ 5.5 , what motor is that. My 8.1 ltr is steady at around 11 mpg towing not paying attention to speed or grades this is a consistant average. Darrell

The Yukon has a 350...not a big block 454.
Not an option on the 2 door 4x4 Yukon.
It will pull the trailer.....it is just incredibly weak at doing so....15 mpg solo and 5.5 towing....which is less than half what the Duramax gets towing.
My trip to Utah last week was about $450 in diesel fuel and easy towing....I would hate think about that trip at over $800 for gasoline and having to grind out every hill between Lubbock and Moab.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by dscluchfc

You guys are leaving out one VERY important factor.....NEW or USED?

Used...and pay cash! I agree with most of what has been said here. I use my vehicle for reimbursed business expense too. With the current deal I have my company pays for about 97% of my total mileage and expenses, my wife's retail business pays another couple of percent and I have to come out of pocket for the rest. Works for me. If I were to use a vehicle for only towing the AS it would most likely be a gasser (if the price were right) FWIW I typically drive my vehicle an average of 50k a year. I get 250-300k+ out of my gassers prior to any engine work being required. Last one was a 97 F150 V-6 with towing package. It required tranny replacement at 160k, radiators every 100k, oil changes every 5k. I turned it back to the company January 06 with 301k on it. They did some front end work and sent it back out as a local truck. Currently it is the oldest truck in the fleet and one of the better running Around here a used diesel will sell for at least $5-6k more than the same year and equipped gasser. Typically the diesel will have a few more miles on them.

Aaron

[Coastalview]

Westlalia, Your statement is right regarding VW and Ca. emissions. Just makes me wonder how Ca. will deal with the trucking industry and lets not forget freight trains. How many VW TDI's would it take to match even one SD70M-2 DC locomotive in terms of emissions?

[Frank S]

Hi dscluchfc--Your 2-door Yukon with the 350ci V-8 would be an older 1/2 ton vehicle. The newer 5.3ltr has more grunt, but I don't think either is enough for a 31' A/S. Your Yukon also probably had a 3.73, or maybe a 3.42 rear, which would result in really poor hill climbing, and the low fuel mileage you indicated. For a gasser in GM talk you would need a 3/4 ton with a minimum of 6.0ltr and a 4.10 rear. Real happiness would be with an 8.1ltr with a 3.73 rear like Darrell has.--Frank S

[Goin camping]

Since I have all you truck guys and gals here......

Setup:
06 F250 psd 4X4. Has a camper package. Torsion bar and rear springs upped one level. Front springs upped two levels.

Question:

Would this be A/S friendly or should I remove torsion bar and a spring or two?

I went to the dealer to look at gassers and they made a smokin deal on this brand new PSD. i.e. Psd costs $1200.00 over gasser!!

[Steve Heywood]

Originally Posted by Goin camping

Since I have all you truck guys and gals here......

Setup:
06 F250 psd 4X4. Has a camper package. Torsion bar and rear springs upped one level. Front springs upped two levels.

Question:

Would this be A/S friendly or should I remove torsion bar and a spring or two?

I went to the dealer to look at gassers and they made a smokin deal on this brand new PSD. i.e. Psd costs $1200.00 over gasser!!

The camper package on a F250 adds stiffer front springs (if available), overload rear springs, and a rear swaybar. Your new truck will ride slighter firmer than my 2WD F250 (which is plenty firm already) but not much. Unless you plan to haul A LOT of weight in the truck you'll never touch the overloads while towing. The stiffer front springs are nice with the diesel as I think the front of my truck is a bit too soft considering the weight of the diesel.

[dscluchfc]

Originally Posted by Frank S

Hi dscluchfc--Real happiness would be with an 8.1ltr with a 3.73 rear like Darrell has.--Frank S

REAL happiness is a Diesel!

[Plumber Dave]

REAL happiness is a Diesel![/quote]
Right on! Those that have them know the feeling of unlimited power potential, incredible economy, and reliability.

[Coastalview]

Originally Posted by Goin camping

Since I have all you truck guys and gals here......

Setup:
06 F250 psd 4X4. Has a camper package. Torsion bar and rear springs upped one level. Front springs upped two levels.

Question:

Would this be A/S friendly or should I remove torsion bar and a spring or two?

I went to the dealer to look at gassers and they made a smokin deal on this brand new PSD. i.e. Psd costs $1200.00 over gasser!!

Sounds like a good deal to me. Jeff

[SafeHarbor]

And nobody yet has really mentioned the irrational part (okay, I sorta did), but what is the extended cost of ownership if you plan to keep the truck forever? (I drove my last one - a gasser - 13 years and 127K miles. I'd still be driving it if somebody at a forum ralley hadn't poisoned my thinking about the transmission and the size/weight ratio of truck to trailer.) I always knew that the truck could be up for an expensive overhaul at virtually any time.

I also know that if I respect my Cummins, there's a very good chance that it can outlast me. Getting the rest of the truck there over the span of years it's going to take will be a challenge. Even worse, the Cummins hates ambling around town. (Folks get the best results from running them hard every day. Folks that do that get the magical 500k overhauls, too.)

I plan to take it in in a couple or five years for the first valve adjustment at 125K miles.

I worked for years as a critical transport paramedic in GA. We drove PSDs, and I have several 100K miles experience in them. In fact, they've left me broken down all over GA and FL. We never broke a core engine part, however, either with the 7.3s or the 6.0s. We never even lost an injector. Things like radiator hoses, idler pullies, clogged fuel filters, and failed computers brought us down.

When I got ready to buy my own truck, it was going to be anything but a FORD.

Of course, I have a distorted picture. I remember the desperate times that we broke down and the ambulance needed an ambulance! I glance over the several hundred thousand miles a number of different trucks just worked the way they were supposed to.

But I also remember driving a brand new intercooled PSD onto a deserted back road and taking the truck and the box up to 90 mph. This didn't last long. I coasted back to a civilized speed. When I got back to the station, I lifted the hood and really looked at the motor. I decided that the intercooler was the root of all evil. I thought our GOOD TRUCKS (the 7.3s) didn't have them, and the intercooler was asking for trouble (and hot-rodding).

It ultimately proved to be a very reliable truck. It only broke down on me once, and that was at 43,800 miles. The emergency room radioed that we appeared to be leaking something, and then my brilliant partner actually looked at the temperature guage. We never even made it out of town. Local EMS couldn't continue the trip for us, so we hitched a ride back with the patient and returned him to to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit so somebody else could take over the transport. The charge nurse was NOT amused when I asked her if they took returns.

Lamar

(And that's one of the few stories that I WILL tell. There are thousands more that any given paramedic won't.)

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Coastalview

How many VW TDI's would it take to match even one SD70M-2 DC locomotive in terms of emissions?

3.5 TDI's per cylinder, times 16 cylinders. And the 710 is 2 cycle, so it would pollute more than the 4 cycle TDI. Of course, 4300 horsepower would make for some fun driving in city traffic, @ 4 gallons per mile.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by SafeHarbor

And nobody yet has really mentioned the irrational part (okay, I sorta did), but what is the extended cost of ownership if you plan to keep the truck forever? (I drove my last one - a gasser - 13 years and 127K miles. I'd still be driving it if somebody at a forum ralley hadn't poisoned my thinking about the transmission and the size/weight ratio of truck to trailer.) I always knew that the truck could be up for an expensive overhaul at virtually any time.

Sorry...

[SafeHarbor]

I did not name you, Terry, and I did not say you were not right. I really like hanging my elbow out the window and listening to the turbo whine on the Cummins.

With ths engine and this transmission, I can tow anything made in Jackson Center that I'm ever likely to buy.

Be not sorry. Be happy. I am, and I thank you. I went from a deb to a brute, but I think it'll equal the ownership of the Dakota several times over.

Never, ever, be sorry for good advice that is taken and acted upon.

Lamar

[scottanlily]

Hello SafeHarbor, Boy Im shocked really at the items you described on your
ambulances that failed ,most all were maintanance not being done ! the computer is a different story ,but never should a diesel fuel filter ever be clogged due to not having it changed .Radiator hoses blowing? I hope I never
need an ambulance in GA .I must ask why would any company neglect
there ambulance fleet? Those items were lack of service ,not a ford issue.
Any diesel owner should know that the fuel filters and water separators are
critical must maintane items period .Sobering to know that when your life is on the line ,you may not make it to the hospital .

Scott

[Goin camping]

The deal was too good. In front of my house is a silver '06 PSD 4X4. I am soooo weak.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Goin camping

The deal was too good. In front of my house is a silver '06 PSD 4X4. I am soooo weak.

Way to go goin! pictures pleasse!

did you drive it much? what model/bed length. you will love the trailer brake....

cheers 2air'

[Goin camping]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

Way to go goin! pictures pleasse!

did you drive it much? what model/bed length. you will love the trailer brake....

cheers 2air'

Its a Silver Crew cab with a short bed. I'll post pictures after I pick up the Safari 25 FB this Saturday.

After I picked it up last night we went for a drive and I'm using it this A.M. for a 90 mi. errand. What a kick to drive. Much different from the last diesel I drove. A tractor trailer.

[Coastalview]

You will have to do a lot of show and tell at the Nor-Cal rally at Lake San Antonio